Author
Children’s writing that opens gentle conversations about belonging, empathy and the big questions that shape a life.
Explore the debut bookAuthor · Literary scholar · Educator
JessWebb.
Stories with depth. Ideas with heart.
Dr Jess Webb is a South Wales-based author, literary scholar and educator. Her debut picture book, A Home for Spark the Dragon, was co-written with Michael Sheen and published by Puffin in association with Shelter.
Published by Puffin
Represented by Curtis Brown
PhD from Cardiff University
Puffin · 2025 · Ages 3+
Debut picture book
A story about what makes a home.
When a storm destroys Spark’s nest, his search for shelter becomes a gentle exploration of belonging, kindness and what turns a place into home.
Co-written with actor and activist Michael Sheen, illustrated by Sarah Massini and published by Puffin in association with Shelter, the book helps open an important conversation with young readers about home and the housing emergency.
Festival appearances
From the page to the stage.
Jess brings stories into the room through warm, thoughtful events for children, families and readers.
May 2025 · Hay-on-Wye
Hay Festival · Global Stage
Jess joined Michael Sheen and Sarah Massini for the family launch of A Home for Spark the Dragon.
June 2026 · Barnes, LondonLondon Children’s Literature Festival
A live family event with Michael Sheen and Sarah Massini, sharing Spark’s story with young readers.
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The work
A life in stories and learning.
Jess’s work moves naturally between the imagination, the archive and the classroom—always with language at its centre.
Scholar
A doctorate in English Literature, with published research on Victorian fiction, Thomas Hardy, belief, gender and the occult.
Selected scholarshipEducator
A qualified secondary teacher and former Cardiff University tutor, bringing scholarship to life for learners and audiences.
Invite JessAcademic work
Scholarship shared internationally.
Jess taught and examined English Literature at Cardiff University. Her research has also taken her to invited lectures and academic events in the UK, United States and Canada.
Selected institutions
- Cardiff University
- Yale University
- Mansfield College, Oxford
- University of Exeter
- University of Calgary
- Northern Illinois University
Selected scholarship
From Hardy to the uncanny.
Jess completed her PhD at Cardiff University, specialising in Victorian literature. Her work on Thomas Hardy received the Robert C. Schweik Prize at Yale University.
Her academic work has been presented at universities and conferences in the UK, the United States and Canada.
- 2010
What Lies Beneath: Orthodoxy and the Occult in Victorian Literature
Doctoral thesis · Cardiff University
Read the thesis - 2008
Corrupting Boyhood in Didactic Children’s Literature
Marryat, Ballantyne and Kingsley · Atenea
- 2007
Religion, Sorcery and Suffering Men
Witchcraft in David Copperfield and Jude the Obscure · Ege Interactions
- 2007
Why Women Fell
Representing the Sexual Lapse in Mid-Victorian Art · eSharp
About Jess
Rigour, warmth and a lifelong love of books.
Jess brings together deep literary knowledge, classroom experience and an instinct for stories that make difficult ideas feel human.
With a PhD in English Literature, years of teaching experience and a lifelong love of books, Jess brings rigour and warmth to everything she writes. She lives in South Wales with her family and is a devoted member of her village book club.
SpecialismVictorian fiction
HomeSouth Wales
RepresentationCurtis Brown
Work with Jess
Bring Jess into the room.
Enquiries are welcome for festivals, school visits, readings, panels and selected writing collaborations.
Cathryn Summerhayes
Curtis Brown · Worldwide representation
Make an enquiryConnect with Jess
Background, experience and professional connections.
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